Adhesion Behaviour during Biofilm Formation on Monazite.

The adsorption behaviour of micro-organisms during the initial attachment stage of biofilm formation affects subsequent stages. The available area for attachment and the chemophysical properties of a surface affect microbial attachment performance. This study focused on the initial attachment behaviour of on monazite by measuring the ratio of planktonic against sessile subpopulations (P:S ratio), and the potential role of extracellular DNA (eDNA).

Biofilm formation on the surface of monazite and xenotime during bioleaching.

Microbial attachment and biofilm formation is a ubiquitous behaviour of microorganisms and is the most crucial prerequisite of contact bioleaching. Monazite and xenotime are two commercially exploitable minerals containing rare earth elements (REEs). Bioleaching using phosphate solubilizing microorganisms is a green biotechnological approach for the extraction of REEs.

Cross-sectional study of acral melanoma awareness in a group of South African final phase medical students.

Background: Acral melanoma refers to melanoma arising on the palms, soles and nail unit, which are sun-protected areas and ultraviolet exposure is not a risk factor. Acral melanoma is associated with a poorer prognosis than other melanoma subtypes most likely due to the high rates of delayed diagnosis. Acral melanoma affects all skin types equally.

Oncolytic peptides DTT-205 and DTT-304 induce complete regression and protective immune response in experimental murine colorectal cancer.

Oncolytic peptides represent a novel, promising cancer treatment strategy with activity in a broad spectrum of cancer entities, including colorectal cancer (CRC). Cancer cells are killed by immunogenic cell death, causing long-lasting anticancer immune responses, a feature of particular interest in non-immunogenic CRC. Oncolytic peptides DTT-205 and DTT-304 were administered by intratumoral injection in subcutaneous tumors established from murine CRC cell lines CT26 and MC38, and complete regression was obtained in the majority of animals.

Cyanide consumption minimisation and concomitant toxic effluent minimisation during precious metals extraction from waste printed circuit boards.

Waste printed circuit boards (WPCBs) constitute a hazardous material with up to 40 different metals, including numerous many heavy metals and environmentally harmful metals. Most hydrometallurgical processing approaches use high concentrations of toxic reagents and generate significant amounts of harmful effluents. This research investigates the use of cyanide-starved glycine solution containing no free cyanide in the leachate to extract precious metals from WPCBs, with most of copper and base metals pre-removed by upstream glycine-only leaching.

Selective Intracellular Delivery of Thiolated Cargo to Tumor and Neovasculature Cells Using Histidine-Rich Peptides as Vectors.

Short histidine-rich peptides could serve as novel activatable vectors for delivering cytotoxic payloads to tumor and neovasculature cells. This explorative study reports preliminary results showing that zinc ions, which are found in elevated levels at neovasculature sites, can trigger the intracellular delivery of a short antimicrobial peptide when conjugated to a histidine-rich peptide through a disulfide bond. The importance of exofacial thiols in the mode of action of these disulfide-linked conjugates is also shown.

Tumor lysis with LTX-401 creates anticancer immunity.

Local immunotherapies such as the intratumoral injection of oncolytic compounds aim at reinstating and enhancing systemic anticancer immune responses. LTX-315 is a first-in-class, clinically evaluated oncolytic peptide-based local immunotherapy that meets these criteria. Here, we show that LTX-401, yet another oncolytic compound designed for local immunotherapy, depicts a similar safety profile and that sequential local inoculation of LTX-401 was able to cure immunocompetent host from subcutaneous MCA205 and TC-1 cancers.

Preparation and Assessment of Self-Immolative Linkers for Therapeutic Bioconjugates with Amino- and Hydroxyl-Containing Cargoes.

A series of self-immolative linkers containing a thiol-reactive group at one end and a hydroxyl- or amine-reactive group at the other were prepared. The utility of these reagents for preparations of bioconjugates was explored by reacting the linkers with appropriately functionalized model drugs and peptides. Degradation studies of a series of conjugates with different linkers reveal that the structure of the linkers has a significant impact on their stability.

Role of microorganisms in bioleaching of rare earth elements from primary and secondary resources.

In an era of environmental degradation, and water, and mineral scarcity, enhancing microbial function in sustainable mining has become a prerequisite for the future of the green economy. In recent years, the extensive use of rare earth elements (REEs) in green and smart technologies has led to an increase in the focus on recovery and separation of REEs from ore matrices. However, the recovery of REEs using traditional methods is complex and energy intensive, leading to the requirement to develop processes which are more economically feasible and environmentally friendly.

Oncolysis with DTT-205 and DTT-304 generates immunological memory in cured animals.

Oncolytic peptides and peptidomimetics are being optimized for the treatment of cancer by selecting agents with high cytotoxic potential to kill a maximum of tumor cells as well as the capacity to trigger anticancer immune responses and hence to achieve long-term effects beyond therapeutic discontinuation. Here, we report on the characterization of two novel oncolytic peptides, DTT-205 and DTT-304 that both selectively enrich in the lysosomal compartment of cancer cells yet differ to some extent in their cytotoxic mode of action. While DTT-304 can trigger the aggregation of RIP3 in ripoptosomes, coupled to the phosphorylation of MLKL by RIP3, DTT-205 fails to activate RIP3.

Surfactant-aided coal dust suppression: A review of evaluation methods and influencing factors.

There is an increasing trend in the occurrence of coal worker's pneumoconiosis even in developed countries such as the US and Australia who have believed such an issue have been well controlled in the past. Water spray is one of the most commonly applied methods for underground coal mines dust control, and research have shown the dust suppression efficiency can be greatly improved by adding surfactants. However, the literature appears to show inconsistent results that do not provide the coal mining industry with a clearly effective solution.

Syntrophic effect of indigenous and inoculated microorganisms in the leaching of rare earth elements from Western Australian monazite.

The unique physiochemical properties exhibited by rare earth elements (REEs) and their increasing application in high-tech industries has created a demand for secure supply lines with established recovery procedures that create minimal environmental damage. Bioleaching experiments conducted on a non-sterile monazite concentrate with a known phosphate solubilising microorganism (PSM) resulted in greater mobilisation of REEs into solution in comparison to experiments conducted on sterile monazite. By combining the native consortia with an introduced PSM, a syntrophic effect between the populations effectively leached a greater amount of REEs than either a single PSM or the indigenous population alone.

Interactions of phosphate solubilising microorganisms with natural rare-earth phosphate minerals: a study utilizing Western Australian monazite.

Many microbial species are capable of solubilising insoluble forms of phosphate and are used in agriculture to improve plant growth. In this study, we apply the use of known phosphate solubilising microbes (PSM) to the release of rare-earth elements (REE) from the rare-earth phosphate mineral, monazite. Two sources of monazite were used, a weathered monazite and mineral sand monazite, both from Western Australia.

Iterative Design and in Vivo Evaluation of an Oncolytic Antilymphoma Peptide.

Oncolytic peptides represent a promising new strategy within the field of cancer immunotherapy. Here we describe the systematic design and evaluation of short antilymphoma peptides within this paradigm. The peptides were tested in vitro and in vivo to identify a lead compound for further evaluation as novel oncolytic immunotherapeutic.

General Approach To Determine Disulfide Connectivity in Cysteine-Rich Peptides by Sequential Alkylation on Solid Phase and Mass Spectrometry.

Within the field of bioprospecting, disulfide-rich peptides are a promising group of compounds that has the potential to produce important leads for new pharmaceuticals. The disulfide bridges stabilize the tertiary structure of the peptides and often make them superior drug candidates to linear peptides. However, determination of disulfide connectivity in peptides with many disulfide bridges has proven to be laborious and general methods are lacking.

Detection of Hepatitis B Virus (HBV) Genomes and HBV Drug Resistant Variants by Deep Sequencing Analysis of HBV Genomes in Immune Cell Subsets of HBV Mono-Infected and/or Human Immunodeficiency Virus Type-1 (HIV-1) and HBV Co-Infected Individuals.

Unlabelled: The hepatitis B virus (HBV) and the human immunodeficiency virus type 1 (HIV-1) can infect cells of the lymphatic system. It is unknown whether HIV-1 co-infection impacts infection of peripheral blood mononuclear cell (PBMC) subsets by the HBV.

Aims: To compare the detection of HBV genomes and HBV sequences in unsorted PBMCs and subsets (i.

Structure-activity relationships of the antimicrobial peptide arasin 1 - and mode of action studies of the N-terminal, proline-rich region.

Arasin 1 is a 37 amino acid long proline-rich antimicrobial peptide isolated from the spider crab, Hyas araneus. In this work the active region of arasin 1 was identified through structure-activity studies using different peptide fragments derived from the arasin 1 sequence. The pharmacophore was found to be located in the proline/arginine-rich NH(2) terminus of the peptide and the fragment arasin 1(1-23) was almost equally active to the full length peptide.

Rational design of conformationally constrained cyclopentapeptide antagonists for C-x-C chemokine receptor 4 (CXCR4).

In the absence of an experimentally determined binding mode for the cyclopentapeptide CXCR4 antagonists, we have rationally designed conformationally constrained analogues to further probe the small peptide binding pocket of CXCR4. Two different rigidification strategies were employed, both resulting in highly potent ligands (9 and 13). The information provided by this cyclopentapeptide ligand series will be very valuable in the development of novel peptidomimetic CXCR4 antagonists.

Rotational conjunctival flap surgery reduces recurrence of pterygium.

We aimed to compare the recurrence rate following primary pterygium surgery using two different techniques, i.e. simple conjunctival closure (SCC) and rotational conjunctival flap (RCF).

Geochemistry of mineral licks at Loskop Dam Nature Reserve, Mpumalanga, South Africa.

Although numerous hypotheses have been proposed to explain geophagy, the primary driver of this behaviour remains elusive. Supplementation of scarce nutrients is one commonly cited explanation. We examined the element concentration of three licks relative to adjacent topsoils to infer the possible reasons for geophagy at Loskop Dam Nature Reserve.

CXC chemokine ligand 16 promotes integrin-mediated adhesion of liver-infiltrating lymphocytes to cholangiocytes and hepatocytes within the inflamed human liver.

Lymphocyte recruitment to the liver is critical for viral clearance in acute hepatitis and in the pathogenesis of chronic inflammatory liver disease when persistent chronic inflammation leads to fibrosis and cirrhosis. Chemokines regulate leukocyte recruitment and positioning in tissues and are thus critical regulators of chronic inflammation. The chemokine CXCL16, which is found in liver tissue, exists in a transmembrane as well as soluble form, providing a potential mechanism for localization to particular structures.

Starch fermentation by recombinant saccharomyces cerevisiae strains expressing the alpha-amylase and glucoamylase genes from lipomyces kononenkoae and saccharomycopsis fibuligera.

Lipomyces kononenkoae and Saccharomycopsis fibuligera possess highly efficient alpha-amylase and/or glucoamylase activities that enable both of these yeasts to utilize raw starch as a carbon source. Eight constructs containing the L. kononenkoae alpha-amylase genes (LKA1 and LKA2), and the S.

Cloning and characterization of a second alpha-amylase gene (LKA2) from Lipomyces kononenkoae IGC4052B and its expression in Saccharomyces cerevisiae.

Lipomyces kononenkoae secretes a battery of highly effective amylases (i.e. alpha-amylase, glucoamylase, isoamylase and cyclomaltodextrin glucanotransferase activities) and is therefore considered as one of the most efficient raw starch-degrading yeasts known.